CAFC Ruling in In re Bilski Limits Patentability of Business Methods

by | Oct 31, 2008 | Legal Developments - Patent Law

Doug McDonald and Gary Mayback have brought to our attention that, in its 9-3 en banc decision in In re Bilski, the CAFC decided yesterday that, under 35 USC  101, business methods can be patented only if they involve use of a machine or a transformation of matter. Doug will be posting his analysis of this decision next week.  Anyone else who wants to comment on the case should feel free to use the blog’s Comment feature to post their thoughts as a comment on this post or on Doug’s post once it is up.

Federal Circuit defines coinventor status

by | Oct 27, 2008 | Legal Developments - Patent Law

The Federal Circuit has issued a decision that provides guidance in determining co-inventor status in patent disputes.  Tavory v. NTP, Inc., No. 07-1527. In an extensive discussion on inventorship, the Federal Circuit has held that an inventor must have conceived a portion of the invention, but does not have to be skilled in the art and able to reduce the invention to practice in order to be considered an inventor.  To read the decision, click here.